Ex-Livi favourite Graham Dorrans gutted at Massone move to kill off Livi sell on fee

May 6 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

GRAHAM DORRANS admits to feeling sorry that the club he loves will not reap the benefits of any future move for him.

The West Brom star, now being linked with a megabucks move to a host of top Premiership clubs, admitted he has read press reports revealing Livingston have lost out on a big-money pay-day.

When he moved from Almondvale to the Baggies he was thrilled to have earned a move up the football ladder.

But he was also delighted that his move had included a substantial sell-on clause which would ensure Livingston, his first club, would reap the benefits if he moved on again in the future.

So when he read that former chairman Angelo Massone had sold the 20 per cent clause, which could now be worth anything up to £2m for a token payment of £50k, his heart sank.

Livingston’s financial troubles have been well documented and a payment like that would be a massive benefit to the club.

He said: “I have read in the press what happened with regards to a sell -on fee for Livingston and it wasn't a nice thing to do.

“I obviously can't comment on what happened with regards to that really but it is a shame.

“If anything happens with regards to me in the summer moving on it would have been great had Livingston been rewarded but unfortunately that's not going to happen now.”

Dorrans, now a Scotland regular under new boss Craig Levein, was the first of the Livi kids to earn a big move but since his switch, pals Robert Snodgrass, James McPake, Joe McKee, Murray Davidson and Leigh Griffiths have all followed suit.

And last week Andy Halliday, another Livi youth team graduate, earned a dream transfer across the border and Dorrans reckons Halliday will have the time of his life at Middlesbrough.

“There have been a good number of players to have gone from Livingston to England and other clubs in Scotland and I think you can put that down to the fact the club has a great youth set-up,” insisted Dorrans.

“When I was coming through, we were very strong at under-18 level and we always did well there against clubs like the Old Firm and Hearts and Hibs.

“We came close to winning the league a few times only to fall away a wee bit at the end and we also did well in the Youth Cup.

“I think the coaching at the club also helped and I would say Alex Cleland deserves a lot of praise for helping develop so many of us. Anyone from that time I think would mention Alex for his work.

“I did speak to Andy about his move to Middlesbrough and I advised him to take his chance as they are a massive club. It isn't often a chance to join a club like that comes along so you have to take them when they come.

“I expect Andy will do well as long as he keeps progressing the way he has been at Livingston.”

West Ham recently had a £4m bid thrown out as the race for Dorrans signature hots up while the likes of Manchester City are also said to be waiting in the wings with cheque books at the ready.

But last week the Premiership’s most wanted man took a break from the transfer limelight to return to West Lothian where he took in the Lions’ 2-0 win over Albion Rovers and took the opportunity to catch up with some old pals.

He continued: “It was nice to be back at Livingston, a place where I have great memories, and I keep in touch with a lot of the boys who I came through the youth team with and Liam Fox too so it was nice to see them.

“I felt it was a typical end of season game with the league already won but Livi played well. It was nice to see David Sinclair on the scoresheet as I keep in touch with him.

“Robert Snodgrass and myself used to take him in to training when we were all at Livingston.

“He was on the fringes of the first-team when I was leaving the club but he is doing well now.”

This week, Dorrans was delighted to see his former team mate Liam Fox lift the Third Division trophy and he heaped praise on his pal for leading the Lions to glory.

He added: “It has been tough for Foxy over the past few years and he has been with the club through thick and thin in the First Division and then when they were relegated to the Third.

“So it is great that he got the chance to lift the title.”